From Reader Maryhrt..
TY!
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LOUISVILLE, KY – “There comes a time in life that you have to make a stand and you have to really prove your convictions and what you believe in. All good people need to denounce this. How can you justify injustice with more injustice?”
These are the words written on the Facebook page of Fernando Martinez, the Cuban-born co-owner of the Ole Restaurant Group.
His words were in response to the demands made of him and numerous other business owners in the Cuban community in Louisville.
They recently received a letter of demands from Black Lives Matter protestors in the district where he opened their newest restaurant, La Bodeguita de Mima. The area is known for its locally-owned shops and restaurants. Martinez said that in addition to the letter, he was confronted by protestors recently.
He called the demands “mafia/gang tactics”.
Those demands came with a contract for obliging business owners to sign.
Here is an idea of what these protestors were looking for.
The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that the letter included:
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2020/08/01/louisville-cuban-community-rally-support-la-bodeguita-de-mima/5562669002/
– Adequately represent the Black population of Louisville by having a minimum of 23% Black staff;
– Purchase a minimum of 23% inventory from Black retailers or make a recurring monthly donation of 1.5% of net sales to a local Black nonprofit or organization;
– Require diversity and inclusion training for all staff members on a bi-annual basis;
– And display a visible sign that increases awareness and shows support for the reparations movement.
Yes, you read that correctly. They want businesses to put up signage saying that they support reparations among numerous outrageous “requests”.
The article also stated:
“According to a press release, members of the city’s Cuban community will meet outside the NuLu restaurant at 4 p.m. Sunday to support the immigrant-owned business, which ‘has been subject to vandalism and extortion in recent days.’
The release states that La Bodeguita de Mima was forced to close July 24 during a demonstration that shut down East Market Street, at which several protesters presented Martinez with the list of demands and said he ‘better put the letter on the door so your business is not f*cked with.’
The restaurant remained closed the next two days because ‘management and staff were concerned about safety,’ according to the release. ’30+ staff members (mostly immigrants) were unable to earn a paycheck.‘“
But, in typical fashion, Phelix Crittenden, an activist who works with Black Lives Matter Louisville, said the demands were “not meant to be a threat, but instead, were merely intended to start a conversation with owners about how their businesses can better reflect and support Black people”.
Yes, smashing flower pots in front of the stores and telling business owners that they need to comply are run the risk of having their businesses “f*cked with” is in no way threatening or intimidating.
But the letter does more than just demand things. It goes so far as to blame the business owners for the plight of the black community.
“The residents of Louisville, Kentucky are standing strong, educated, and together to express the destruction your business has caused to low-income communities, specifically those with majority Black residents. We therefore demand representation and reparations in the NuLu business district of Louisville for the gentrification that has taken place.
It’s not just in Louisville. The same thing is happening in Madison, Wisconsin as we previously reported.
Pay up… or you’ll pay.
That was essentially the message to business owners from a Black Lives Matter activist, according to the FBI – who has now arrested him.Devonere Johnson, a vocal protester for Black Lives Matter, was apparently staying in Wisconsin recently and taking part in the civil unrest.
If this was not enough, Johnson allegedly began demanding local businesses provide he and his friends free food and services. In addition, he also demanded protection money to the owners, if they refused to pay them, he threatened to break windows and damage their business.
The FBI was called into investigate and charged him for extorting businesses.
Cooper’s Tavern, a local bar in the area, Johnson and an unknown man were found sitting at the tables playing a loud radio. The owner spoke with him and informed Johnson that he supported the Black Lives Matter movement in the area.
Johnson replied, according to court documents from the FBI:
“What have you done here locally?”
Johnson then demanded protection money and likened the owner and his employees as members of the Ku Klux Klan if they did not pay. The intimidation did not stop there as Johnson returned to the same venue twice this past Tuesday.
While inside, on video, Johnson is seen yelling into a bull horn allegations that the bar and the staff were racist. One of them men with Johnson is seen with a bat with the words “Black Lives Matter” inscribed.
According to court documents, Johnson said:
“Just give us some free food and beer and we can end this now. You don’t want 600 people to come here and destroy your business and burn it down. The cops are on our side. You notice that when you call them, nothing happens to us.”
Officers did respond to the area and placed Johnson under arrest for disorderly conduct while armed, resisting arrest and attempting to flee while on active probation. Johnson physically resisted the officers lawful attempts at taking him into custody and had to be taken to the ground in order to place him in handcuffs.
Once he was in custody, Johnson began yelling that he could not breathe and continually asked why he was being arrested. The federal charges against Johnson for extortion could carry a maximum sentence of forty years in prison. In an interview with WMTV, the Department of Justice US Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin in the case, Scott Blader, alleges:
“The threats were made that suggested that if he [the business owner] did not donate money to a Venmo account, that, in fact, they would be back, that they would cause disturbances and that, in fact, their business would suffer because of that.”
Johnson has been arrested a few times in the past, namely for an incident over a cell phone purchase. Johnson and three others met with two people from Chicago in order to buy two cell phones from them.
The problem was, Johnson nor his friends had any intention of purchasing anything, but rather rob the phones from the victims. Johnson and his three accomplices held the pair from Chicago at gun point and eventually shot at them as they fled. Instead of being convicted of armed robbery and attempted murder, the courts dropped it down to theft.
What will happen to Johnson when this case goes to trial is unknown, but what is known is that his arrest sparked more outrage in the area. People rushed to the streets demanding that Johnson be released from custody.
When he was not, they began tearing down statutes in the area and defacing property. Instead of calling for calm in the Wisconsin area, Democratic Governor Tony Evers and Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes decided to blame republicans for the unrest.
LOUISVILLE, KY – “There comes a time in life that you have to make a stand and you have to really prove your convictions and what you believe in. All good people need to denounce this. How can you justify injustice with more injustice?”
These are the words written on the Facebook page of Fernando Martinez, the Cuban-born co-owner of the Ole Restaurant Group.
His words were in response to the demands made of him and numerous other business owners in the Cuban community in Louisville.
They recently received a letter of demands from Black Lives Matter protestors in the district where he opened their newest restaurant, La Bodeguita de Mima. The area is known for its locally-owned shops and restaurants. Martinez said that in addition to the letter, he was confronted by protestors recently.
He called the demands “mafia/gang tactics”.
Those demands came with a contract for obliging business owners to sign.
Here is an idea of what these protestors were looking for.
The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that the letter included:
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2020/08/01/louisville-cuban-community-rally-support-la-bodeguita-de-mima/5562669002/
– Adequately represent the Black population of Louisville by having a minimum of 23% Black staff;
– Purchase a minimum of 23% inventory from Black retailers or make a recurring monthly donation of 1.5% of net sales to a local Black nonprofit or organization;
– Require diversity and inclusion training for all staff members on a bi-annual basis;
– And display a visible sign that increases awareness and shows support for the reparations movement.
Yes, you read that correctly. They want businesses to put up signage saying that they support reparations among numerous outrageous “requests”.
The article also stated:
“According to a press release, members of the city’s Cuban community will meet outside the NuLu restaurant at 4 p.m. Sunday to support the immigrant-owned business, which ‘has been subject to vandalism and extortion in recent days.’
The release states that La Bodeguita de Mima was forced to close July 24 during a demonstration that shut down East Market Street, at which several protesters presented Martinez with the list of demands and said he ‘better put the letter on the door so your business is not f*cked with.’
The restaurant remained closed the next two days because ‘management and staff were concerned about safety,’ according to the release. ’30+ staff members (mostly immigrants) were unable to earn a paycheck.‘“
But, in typical fashion, Phelix Crittenden, an activist who works with Black Lives Matter Louisville, said the demands were “not meant to be a threat, but instead, were merely intended to start a conversation with owners about how their businesses can better reflect and support Black people”.
Yes, smashing flower pots in front of the stores and telling business owners that they need to comply are run the risk of having their businesses “f*cked with” is in no way threatening or intimidating.
But the letter does more than just demand things. It goes so far as to blame the business owners for the plight of the black community.
“The residents of Louisville, Kentucky are standing strong, educated, and together to express the destruction your business has caused to low-income communities, specifically those with majority Black residents. We therefore demand representation and reparations in the NuLu business district of Louisville for the gentrification that has taken place.
It’s not just in Louisville. The same thing is happening in Madison, Wisconsin as we previously reported.
Pay up… or you’ll pay.
That was essentially the message to business owners from a Black Lives Matter activist, according to the FBI – who has now arrested him.Devonere Johnson, a vocal protester for Black Lives Matter, was apparently staying in Wisconsin recently and taking part in the civil unrest.
If this was not enough, Johnson allegedly began demanding local businesses provide he and his friends free food and services. In addition, he also demanded protection money to the owners, if they refused to pay them, he threatened to break windows and damage their business.
The FBI was called into investigate and charged him for extorting businesses.
Cooper’s Tavern, a local bar in the area, Johnson and an unknown man were found sitting at the tables playing a loud radio. The owner spoke with him and informed Johnson that he supported the Black Lives Matter movement in the area.
Johnson replied, according to court documents from the FBI:
“What have you done here locally?”
Johnson then demanded protection money and likened the owner and his employees as members of the Ku Klux Klan if they did not pay. The intimidation did not stop there as Johnson returned to the same venue twice this past Tuesday.
While inside, on video, Johnson is seen yelling into a bull horn allegations that the bar and the staff were racist. One of them men with Johnson is seen with a bat with the words “Black Lives Matter” inscribed.
According to court documents, Johnson said:
“Just give us some free food and beer and we can end this now. You don’t want 600 people to come here and destroy your business and burn it down. The cops are on our side. You notice that when you call them, nothing happens to us.”
Officers did respond to the area and placed Johnson under arrest for disorderly conduct while armed, resisting arrest and attempting to flee while on active probation. Johnson physically resisted the officers lawful attempts at taking him into custody and had to be taken to the ground in order to place him in handcuffs.
Once he was in custody, Johnson began yelling that he could not breathe and continually asked why he was being arrested. The federal charges against Johnson for extortion could carry a maximum sentence of forty years in prison. In an interview with WMTV, the Department of Justice US Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin in the case, Scott Blader, alleges:
“The threats were made that suggested that if he [the business owner] did not donate money to a Venmo account, that, in fact, they would be back, that they would cause disturbances and that, in fact, their business would suffer because of that.”
Johnson has been arrested a few times in the past, namely for an incident over a cell phone purchase. Johnson and three others met with two people from Chicago in order to buy two cell phones from them.
The problem was, Johnson nor his friends had any intention of purchasing anything, but rather rob the phones from the victims. Johnson and his three accomplices held the pair from Chicago at gun point and eventually shot at them as they fled. Instead of being convicted of armed robbery and attempted murder, the courts dropped it down to theft.
What will happen to Johnson when this case goes to trial is unknown, but what is known is that his arrest sparked more outrage in the area. People rushed to the streets demanding that Johnson be released from custody.
When he was not, they began tearing down statutes in the area and defacing property. Instead of calling for calm in the Wisconsin area, Democratic Governor Tony Evers and Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes decided to blame republicans for the unrest.
https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/blm-demands-piece-of-louisville-business-owners-profits-for-protection/
